Xiong Shaoqing raised his teacup, using the motion to conceal the gleam in his eyes as he smoothly summoned the Destiny Diary in his Sea of Consciousness:
[The Natural Residence in Suotuo City is boiling with voices, loud enough to grate on the ears.]
[Still, its signature Vinegar Fish and desserts certainly live up to its reputation.]
[Xiao Wu has no concern for appearances when she eats pork knuckle. With sauce all over the corners of her mouth, she looks like a greedy little kitten that hasn't eaten for three days. Zhu Zhuqing seems aloof, yet she keeps quietly placing deboned fish belly in my bowl.]
[I've told them the injury to my left shoulder healed long ago, but they insist on waiting on me as carefully as if I were an invalid.]
[Oh well. Let them do as they please.]
[This world sways in wind and rain, with undercurrents surging among its various powers. Watching them eat contentedly and peacefully amid this mortal bustle, even this heart of mine, frozen in the Divine Realm for so many years, seems to stir a little with the steam rising from the food.]
[Peaceful days amount to no more than this. As long as they can remain this carefree, my journey through the mortal world will not have been wasted.]
Chapter 49: First Encounter with Qian Renxue
Across from him, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing both paused when they saw this diary entry.
Xiao Wu hurriedly set down her pork knuckle and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, blushing.
The tips of Zhu Zhuqing's ears reddened slightly as she silently placed a freshly deboned piece of fish in Xiong Shaoqing's bowl, tenderness almost spilling from her eyes.
Meanwhile, sitting in a teahouse, Qian Renxue saw the same golden words appear in her mind.
"The Natural Residence?"
Qian Renxue's golden eyes suddenly lit up at the place named in the diary.
Through the teahouse window, she could see the enormous sign a short distance diagonally across the street, bearing the three gilded characters for "Natural Residence."
She had worn out iron shoes searching in vain, only to find it here.
Every line was filled with helpless indulgence toward those two girls. To think that a man capable of writing an unparalleled masterpiece like Chinese Paladin had such a personality in real life.
Qian Renxue stood, casually leaving a Silver Soul Coin to pay for her tea. She straightened the snow-white brocade robe that represented her status as the Heaven Dou Crown Prince, an intrigued smile curling her lips.
"Come. We're going to the Natural Residence," Qian Renxue instructed the guards behind her mildly.
She wanted to meet this brilliantly talented God King who was cultivating anew and could kill enemies above his rank, and see just how coldly unapproachable he looked while partaking of mortal fare.
The elegant window-side seating on the Natural Residence's second floor offered an excellent view of Suotuo City's bustling streets.
Xiong Shaoqing sat upright, his stern face like profound ice that would not thaw for ten thousand years, holding a cup of tea. Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing sat on either side, happily eating.
Just then, slow, steady footsteps approached.
"My friend, my apologies. All the private seating downstairs is occupied. Might I trouble you to share your table?"
A warm, refined voice rang out, carrying a hint of nobility.
Xiong Shaoqing raised his eyes and looked at the newcomer.
The newcomer wore a spotless, snow-white silk brocade robe.
Long golden hair was gathered high beneath an exquisite jade crown. His handsome, refined face had flawless features, and his brow carried the composure and serenity of imperial nobility.
The flat chest and even details like the Adam's apple were perfect-a peerlessly handsome young gentleman amid this turbid world.
Outwardly, Xiong Shaoqing merely swept a cold glance over "him" without speaking.
In truth, however, the lecherous soul within Xiong Shaoqing had already stirred up towering waves, furiously commenting:
Incredible. This Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul's disguise skill is practically cheating.
Now this is what you call a woman disguising herself as a man, damn it. Those costume dramas I watched in my previous life had heroines slap on fake mustaches while wearing long lashes and eyeshadow, then insisted nobody recognized them. They were grinding the audience's intelligence into the dirt.
But Qian Renxue's disguise doesn't have a single flaw, not even her bone structure or Adam's apple. Without the system, I'd definitely have been fooled.
Still, however convincingly Qian Renxue plays a man, beneath that disguise she's still the Xue'er whose beauty could topple cities and kingdoms.
Look at that figure, that bearing. Tsk, tsk. I've struck gold this time.
Though inwardly delighted, Xiong Shaoqing maintained his icy God King demeanor, keeping others a thousand miles away.
He nodded slightly, his voice cold and utterly flat. "Sit."
"Thank you, my friend." Qian Renxue, using the alias Xue Qinghe, smiled faintly and sat directly opposite Xiong Shaoqing without ceremony.
The instant she sat down, coming within ten feet of Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing-
[Ding! Social System triggered: goddesses possessing copies detected within ten feet of one another.]
[Would you like to add each other as friends?]
[Note: after successfully adding each other as friends, both parties will receive the bond bonus "Soul Power Purity Permanently +5%" and automatically join "Xiong Shaoqing's Notes Instance Gossip Group." Features including "Letters" and "Trading" will be unlocked.]
This sudden golden notification sounded explosively in the minds of Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and the newly seated Qian Renxue at the same time.
Xiao Wu's chopstick-holding hand jolted, while Zhu Zhuqing's cool eyes abruptly narrowed.
The two exchanged a knowing glance, then turned in unison toward the handsome young gentleman opposite them.
Heavens, he... she's the Xue'er Big Brother mentioned in his diary?
Xiao Wu exclaimed inwardly, studying Qian Renxue closely. Her male disguise is far too convincing! Without the system's notification, I couldn't possibly tell she was a woman.
Zhu Zhuqing reacted swiftly. She knew very well that Xiong Shaoqing most needed to conceal his strength and trump cards right now.
If Qian Renxue directly exposed the diary's existence, Xiong Shaoqing's "inner voice" might stop working.
She immediately mobilized her Soul Power and used secret voice transmission, sending her voice straight into Qian Renxue's ears:
"Sister Xue'er, I'm Zhu Zhuqing, and this is Xiao Wu beside me. We both have copies of Shaoqing's diary."
"Please be sure to remain composed. Shaoqing still doesn't know we can glimpse his inner voice. You mustn't expose the diary's secret."
Qian Renxue had only just sat down and raised her teacup when the notification suddenly appearing in her mind and the secret transmission reaching her ears violently shook her usually still-as-an-ancient-well heart.
A flash of shock passed through her golden eyes as she glanced at the seemingly nonchalant Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing opposite her.
They have diary copies too, and they've even formed some gossip group?
Towering waves surged within Qian Renxue, but at the words "Soul Power Purity Permanently +5%" on the notification panel, she accepted mentally without the slightest hesitation.
Only a fool would refuse such a heaven-defying opportunity to permanently strengthen the foundation of their Soul Power.
[Ding! Friends added successfully! Qian Renxue has joined "Xiong Shaoqing's Notes Instance Gossip Group"!]
The instant Qian Renxue joined, a group-chat notification also appeared in Bibi Dong's mind, far away in Spirit City's Papal Palace.
Qian Renxue-she actually joined the group!
Bibi Dong abruptly rose from her throne. Uncontainable fury roiled in her purple eyes, mingled with a trace of bitterness and jealousy that even she failed to notice.
That unfilial daughter! Instead of staying in the Heaven Dou Empire as its crown prince and plotting to seize the country, she's run off to Suotuo City to meet Xiong Shaoqing.
What is she trying to do? Has she fallen for that nonsense-spouting ant after reading a few wretched diary entries?
Bibi Dong trembled with anger, her fingers gripping the handrest of the Pure Gold Scepter so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
She's the daughter of the mighty Pope of Spirit Hall, with the noblest Angel Bloodline flowing through her veins. How could she throw herself at a weakling who hasn't even reached Thirtieth Rank? Absolutely not!
Meanwhile, at the Natural Residence's elegant table.
Although Xiong Shaoqing could not see the group chat, he knew Qian Renxue had sat down. It was time to fish.
He raised his teacup and gently blew on the floating leaves, his deep gaze seemingly wandering casually out the window. In fact, he had already summoned the Destiny Diary in his Sea of Consciousness and begun a precision emotional bombardment:
Chapter 50: Though We Meet, We Must Remain Strangers
[The Natural Residence's clamor cannot, in the end, conceal the loneliness in some people's bones.]
[She came after all. She's sitting right across from me.]
[Dressed as a man, gentle as jade. Heaven knows how many grievances she, a woman alone deep in an enemy nation's palace, has swallowed behind that perfect facade called Xue Qinghe.]
[Seeing her force herself to appear strong reminds me of our previous life. That foolish girl was so proud, so desperate for that person's approval, yet to buy me time to Reverse Time and Space, she forcibly shattered the Holy Angel Godhood she had spent tens of millions of years cultivating.]
[She always feels that no one in this world understands her suffering, that no one aches for her isolation and helplessness.]
[But she doesn't know that she repaid everything she owed the world long ago. What I owe her, however-even if I must fill that debt with my life, I will protect her, bit by bit, in this lifetime.]
[It's just that I'm not strong enough yet, not strong enough to overturn this chessboard for her. I can only pretend not to know her. Wait a little longer for me, Xue'er.]
Without ornate language, every word struck precisely through the frozen armor around Qian Renxue's heart.
Opposite him, Qian Renxue's hand holding her teacup froze completely in midair.
She stared fixedly at Xiong Shaoqing.
This man was plainly just sitting there quietly drinking tea. He had not even moved a finger.
Yet in her mind, the golden diary kept appearing in sync, in real time.
He isn't writing...
This diary really is a projection of the truest, most uncontrollable inner voice from the depths of his soul.
Qian Renxue's breathing fell into complete disorder.
Those words, "how many grievances she has swallowed alone" and "no one aches for her isolation and helplessness," were like a heavy hammer, brutally shattering the cold mask she had worn for more than twenty years.
For all these years, she had maneuvered cautiously within the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, unable even to sleep peacefully. She had thought herself immune to every poison.
Yet in the eyes of this God King who had crossed time and space to cultivate anew, all her strength was merely a heartbreaking disguise.
What shook her even more was the line, "even if I must fill that debt with my life, I will protect her, bit by bit."
Qian Renxue lowered her head slightly, using the act of drinking tea to conceal the sting rising in her eyes.
All her life, the Pope, the mother who had borne and raised her, had only used and despised her. Even her grandfather merely treated her as a tool for Spirit Hall's future.
This was the first time a man had expressed his concern for her without reservation in his utterly private thoughts.
An unfamiliar feeling, unlike anything she had ever experienced, quietly spread through Qian Renxue's heart like vines breaking through the soil.
[Ding! Qian Renxue's inner defenses have been completely shattered, producing intense feelings of being moved, grievance, and fated attachment! Admiration Value is skyrocketing!]
[Ding! Bibi Dong is experiencing extreme rage and intense jealousy! Emotional fluctuations have reached their peak!]
[System Feedback Mechanism explosion! Massive amounts of high-tier bond Soul Power forcibly flooding in!]
[Host's Soul Power has broken through two rank barriers in succession!]
[Current Soul Power: Twenty-Ninth Rank!]
Xiong Shaoqing felt as though a primordial beast had awakened within him. Exceedingly pure Soul Power at the peak of a Twenty-Ninth Rank Soul Grandmaster surged wildly through his meridians.
Twenty-Ninth Rank—he was only one final step away from reaching Thirtieth Rank and obtaining his third Soul Ring.
Is this the ultimate reward for a master of balancing everyone's affections?
Qian Renxue being moved, plus Bibi Dong being jealous-double the gold drops, just like that.
Even a rocket couldn't keep up with this leveling speed.
He calculated inwardly. Once he reached Thirtieth Rank and possessed three Soul Rings, combined with the Archaic Heaven-Shaking Bear's domineering foundations and the trump cards from the system...
No matter how many hidden weapons Tang San had, he could uproot those two stalks of Blue Silver Grass belonging to that pure-as-ice-and-jade Third Young Master Tang and grind him into the ground.
Though inwardly his delight churned like overturning rivers and seas, Xiong Shaoqing's facial control was worthy of an award-winning actor.
He set down his teacup and raised his deep, icy black eyes, his gaze as calm as stagnant water as he glanced indifferently at "Xue Qinghe," whose eyes were slightly red.
"This tea has gone a little cold." His voice was hard as he casually beckoned a waiter. "Bring a fresh pot of hot tea. Since this gentleman is sharing our table, this meal is on me."
He maintained that lofty, even somewhat distant, icy God King manner to perfection.
Tea fragrance curled through the Natural Residence's elegant seating area.
Qian Renxue raised her celadon teacup and took a small sip, her intrigued gaze settling on the stern young man opposite her.
"Brother Xiong, your talent is extraordinary. I've read your Chinese Paladin, and it truly stirs the soul. How will Li Xiaoyao and Lin Yueru's story develop after the marriage tournament? The suspense is simply unbearable."
Her tone was warm, her manner that of a young gentleman humbly seeking guidance, without the slightest flaw.
Xiong Shaoqing's face remained as still as a tranquil lake. Not even his brows moved.
"If you wish to know what happens next, Young Master Xue, simply keep an eye on Hanmo Publishing House." Xiong Shaoqing's voice was cold and hard, carrying an indifference that kept others a thousand miles away. "Revealing the story ahead of time would spoil the suspense. I have nothing to disclose."
Before you continue